BRASELTON, Ga. (October 13, 2018) – The No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 took the checkered flag at the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga, finishing tenth. The final moments of the 10-hour race found the No. 15, driven by Jack Hawksworth at the back of the GTD class, despite a beginning that looked promising.

The early hours of the endurance race included Hawksworth in the lead in the No. 15 and the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 fighting in the top five for the first five hours.

Hawksworth, who qualified P2 on Friday, earned third fastest lap of the race with his qualifying lap of 1:19:732.

“Our day started off really well,” Hawksworth said. “The car balance was very good. We were surprisingly good over the long runs. The Lexus was competitive on old tires which is something we struggled with (this season). I was very optimistic after the first couple of stints. Led the race for quite a long time during the first two or three hours and then various things got to us and at the end we had one of the calipers explode and we completely lost our brakes. Obviously, the brakes going was kind of the nail in the coffin. The crew did a good job. It just wasn’t our day.”

Hawksworth’s co-driver, David Heinemeier Hansson, said he was disappointed with the end of the race, but he was also thrilled with the stints he drove, agreeing with Hawksworth that the early hours were best.

“My stints were great today. The car was super quick so as long as it was working it was a rocket ship but, unfortunately, we had some issues along the way and we couldn’t make it to the end on the brakes so that was a bummer,” he said. “We showed we definitely had the pace and I think we led quite a few laps with Jack (Hawksworth) in the car and when I was out there the car was as quick as it was going to be. Got to do a bunch of fun passes and compete. It’s just a shame we couldn’t compete for the win at the end.”

The No. 14 car did not finish after mechanical issues forced the car out of the race after the halfway point. Dominik Baumann qualified the No. 14 on Friday, starting the race P8, but quickly moved up through the traffic when the race began at 11:05 a.m.

“Qualifying was not the best,” Baumann said. “But I knew I could make up some places at the beginning of the race. I did a double stint and our Lexus felt great. I had some good fights out there and it felt promising that we’d go further into the race. We did a pit stop and I got back in the car and then I lost a wheel going out of the box. I don’t know what really happened. I tried to bring the car back, but I just had no drive. It didn’t accelerate, and the car may have been damaged trying to come back. It had to go on the tow truck and we had to retire the race unfortunately.”

3GT Racing Technical Director, John Gentilozzi, said he gives full credit to the No. 14 crew for fighting through everything, but it became apparent that retiring the car was the right decision.

“It was a tough deal with the No. 14 car but going any further with it wouldn’t have changed the position in points, so it was better not to take a risk with the car, and perhaps someone else’s race,” Gentilozzi said. “As for the No. 15 car, it was running really well, unfortunately the brake wear was a little faster than we thought, and we had to make that change for the brakes which pretty much put us at the back. But we took the checkered flag for 3GT Racing and for Lexus. We start looking forward to next season.”

No. 14 co-driver, Kyle Marcelli, called the race a bittersweet way to end the season.

“It’s really been a season full of highs and lows,” he said. “We had a good amount of success in the sprint races with two victories and a second-place podium. I think 3GT Racing and Lexus should be happy with those results. The endurance races have not been our friend this year. Everybody gives it their best. There’s certainly nothing left on the table. Today we had a pretty good race car. We were fighting in the top-five for the first six hours. It’s been a lot of fun to work with Dominik (Baumann) for the season and to have Philipp Frommenwiler join us for the endurance races, I couldn’t have asked for better teammates.”

Endurance drivers, Philipp Frommenwiler in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and Sean Rayhall in the No. 15, were both happy to be part of the race and disappointed in the final standings.

“I’ve enjoyed my experience a lot this year,” said Frommenwiler who also raced at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and at Sebring. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luck on our side in the endurance races. That’s part of endurance racing. The guys had the success in the sprint races.”

“This is my favorite race of the season. It’s unfortunate it ended the way it did. 3GT Racing gave us a great Lexus RC F. It was really fast. We struggled a little bit during the day time, but man the car was really coming alive there right before we started to have some gremlins,” Rayhall said. “I’m just really thankful to be a part of this project, be a part of this team and to finish out this season with a strong effort. Really proud of all the guys.”

The season ends for the No. 14 and No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 having earned two wins in the No. 14, Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course and Virginia International Raceway and a second-place podium at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Jack Hawksworth earned four pole positions and the team finished top five in more than half of this year’s races and earned six of the quickest GTD race laps (five by Hawksworth and one by Baumann).

3GT Racing Managing Partner Paul Gentilozzi said this last race, the Motul Petit Le Man, was a tough race and it would have been better had it been two hours shorter.

“It should be called the 10-hour adventure of Petit Le Mans,” he said. “It’s tough. It’s getting to be every bit as tough a race as Sebring. It’s a 10-hour sprint race and we led, we were fast, but we didn’t finish well. That makes it a failure in my book. But we’ll move on. Lots of good stuff coming. The thing about racing is that you remember your last race until your next race. And then we’ll forget all of this. And it just can’t come soon enough for me.”

About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 48 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.

BRASELTON, GA (October 12, 2018) — It was close. With a fastest lap less than half a tenth of a second behind the pole winner, Jack Hawksworth in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 will start tomorrow’s Motul Petit Le Mans in at the front.

Hawksworth said he was happy with his lap time of 1:19:73 and the chance to start in the second position in the last race of the season.

Hawksworth has earned four pole awards during the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Virginia International Raceway. Many were hoping this would have been his fifth.

“I’d rather have five poles than four, but four is ok,” he said. “There was just enough left on the car to have one more stint. But we’re happy with it. The performance of the car was good.”

He and co-driver, David Heinemeier Hansson, have accumulated four top-five finishes this season in the No. 15 Lexus and Hawksworth has amassed five fastest laps, the four poles and a fastest lap at Lime Rock. The No. 15 team is joined by Sean Rayhall for this weekend’s 10-hour endurance race.

Hawksworth said there had been some braking issues during some of the practice sessions this weekend, but the crew came together and had it fixed in time for today’s 15-minute qualifying session.

“We’re really happy with the car now and I think it bodes well for the race,” he said.

Dominik Bauman qualified in the No 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and will start the race eighth.

“It’s a ten-hour race. But we have a good car,” Baumann said. “The race set-up was really good, so we will just have to try to make up some places. Sure, it’s a little disappointing that it’s only eighth, but we have a good driver line-up for the race and we are looking forward to it.”

Philipp Frommenwiler will join Baumann and co-driver, Kyle Marcelli for the race.

3GT Racing Managing Partner Paul Gentilozzi said he’s happy to see Hawksworth starting at the front of the race.

“We’re always wanting to be first, every time we go on the race track,” said Gentilozzi said. “Today, we’re first of the teams that raced the whole season. We’re second overall in our class. And I think it’s wonderful that we can expose the performance in all of the cars that are here, Ferrari, Audi, Porsche, and Lexus. This is the last race of the year, there’s no reason to hold back. We like it.”

About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 48 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.

BRASELTON, GA. (October 7, 2017) — The final results of the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta left both Lexus RC F GT3 cars, No. 14 and No. 15, with a formal finish in the top ten. But it wasn’t the finish anybody was hoping for, and certainly not what the performances in the early hours of the race seemed to promise.

During the 10-hour endurance race, three of the four main 3GT Racing team drivers ran in the lead of the GTD class. Scott Pruett, Sage Karam and Jack Hawksworth, all were leaders, but only the No. 15 crossed the finish line. With less than two hours to go, and in about five minutes, both cars were involved in incidents.

Robert Alon in the No. 14 car had contact with the tire wall in turn 12. Alon was uninjured, but was evaluated by IMSA medical staff and released. The damage to the car was not repairable in the time remaining. The reason for the incident is still under assessment.

Minutes after Alon’s incident, Hawksworth, who had spent two minutes and 44 seconds in the penalty box, had to have help from the crew to get the No. 15 started and back on the track. Before he’d completed his return lap, the front end of the car was damaged.

“The Penske car drove into the front of me on the back straight,” he said. “The Penske car was passing someone and then drove right over the front of my car. The worst bit of driving I’ve ever seen.”

The No. 15 was repaired by the 3GT Racing crew and returned to finish the race in 8th-place.

3GT Racing Technical Director, John Gentilozzi called the race “an unfortunate end to our season.” This was the last race in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

“We ran very well with both cars throughout the entire race. We led some laps, led some good chunks of laps and were in the hunt, up until the contact with the wall,” Gentilozzi said.

“You have to give credit to the drivers who went in there and ran consistent laps and had great pace. We were hoping for something better out of this weekend. I think we worked really hard – the engineers, crew and drivers – everybody worked hard and we thought we could get win or at least be on the podium. But unfortunately, stuff that was out of our control, for the most part, prevented that result. But we’ll certainly come back and expect better results next year.”

It was a tough ending for Pruett, Hawksworth’s co-driver alongside Austin Cindric. Like the rest of the team, Pruett said he had hoped for a strong ending to the Lexus RC F GT3 inaugural season. “We were hopeful about finishing on the podium” he said.

“We ran strong, both cars, the 14 and the 15, there were a few issues, but it wasn’t meant to be. It was one of those seasons. You have to remember it’s a building season. We learned a lot. We have a lot of momentum going into 2018, and a lot to learn from 2017.”

About 3GT Racing

3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 46 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.

“It felt pretty good out there,” Hawksworth said. “Our guys did a really good job. The conditions had changed a lot since this morning’s practice. I think we have decent pace in the daytime, and we know the car works really well at night. I’m hoping during the race to stay in or around the top three, four or five, and then, in the evening, try and win the thing.”
The Motul Petit LeMans is the final race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The weather forecast for Saturday’s 10-hour race calls for a chance of rain and Hawksworth, who has often said he loves to race in the rain, said he hopes it stays away tomorrow.

“To be honest, if everything is going smooth tomorrow, I’d rather it not rain,” he said. “The car worked really well in the rain at Watkins Glen but it just becomes a lottery when it rains. I think our car was very good today during qualifying. All our drivers have experience in the rain, but I’d just rather stay out of it.”

Because it is an endurance race, each team has an additional driver. Austin Cindric joins Hawksworth and his co-driver, Scott Pruett on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track.

Ian James will be the third driver in the No. 15, Lexus RC F GT3, teaming up with Robert Alon and Karam. Karam feels a little differently about the forecasted rain.

“Bring it on,” Karam said.

“The last three hours of tomorrow’s race will be at night, so if the car continues to be good, that works for us,” he said. “I’m just thinking about getting through the first few hours. We’re out of practice time, so now we just look at the data and plan. And I’ll be praying for rain.”

Rain or no rain, 3GT Racing Technical Director, John Gentilozzi said he was a little surprised at the outcome for the No. 14 during today’s qualifying session.

“We thought we had a set up on the No. 14 that was going to work really well, based on what we saw this morning during practice,” Gentilozzi said. “But I think Jack was able to put together a little bit better lap and maybe the changes made on the No. 15 were enough to counter the track changes that followed the Continental Challenge race that was right before we went out to qualify.

“But tomorrow will be different. It’s a long race, a 10-hour race, and I think we have a couple of real stable cars that will be easy on tires throughout. I think they’ll both be able to move up through the field. So, we’ll just put our heads down and keep driving.”

The 10-hour race is scheduled for a green flag at 11:05 a.m. (ET) on Saturday. Live coverage of IMSA’s 20th Anniversary Motul Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta will begin on FS1 at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and move to FS2 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with live coverage continuing from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on FOX Sports GO and from 5 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on FS2.

About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 46 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.

EAST LANSING, MI (October 5, 2017) – The last of four endurance races in the 2017 Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, the Motul Petit Le Mans, will be Saturday, Oct. 7 at Road Atlanta and marks the final race in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

For 3GT Racing it is a final opportunity for a win or podium during the inaugural year of racing the No. 14 and No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3.

The 10-hour race also means additional drivers will join the two teams racing the Lexus RC F GT3 cars. Ian James will partner with the Sage Karam and Robert Alon team in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3. And Austin Cindric will co-drive with the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 team of Jack Hawksworth and Scott Pruett.

Pruett has been on the podium at Road Atlanta the last three times he raced and said he remains optimistic about a positive result for the Lexus cars on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track. He also believes that testing earlier this season by the 3GT Team at Road Atlanta will prove beneficial during this weekend’s race.

“I’d love for us to wrap up with a podium this weekend,” Pruett said. “I’m anxious to see how much we’ve gained this season by going back to a track that was one of our very first tests and I’m hopeful we’ll have a great race to end the season.”

Pruett said he’s happy to share driving duties with 19-year old Cindric. “He’s driven the car and while I haven’t driven with Austin, Jack has so I’m pretty sure the integration will be seamless,” he said.

Cindric, who took first place in the Camping World Truck Series race in September at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, drove with Hawksworth in the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 during endurance races earlier in the season.

“I get along really well with Jack and Scott brings a load of experience, so it’s kind of cool for me to have this opportunity,” Cindric said. “Road Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks and we know we have the speed in this car, so I think we just need to execute everything well. Make no mistakes and we can be successful.”

Joining the racing team of Sage Karam and Robert Alon in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 is Ian James. James, who raced with Karam in the No. 14 during earlier endurance races this year, has been racing in various series throughout the season.

“Since I last raced with 3GT in Sebring, I’ve had a successful season with six wins,” James said. “I’d really like to cap the year off with a win here at Road Atlanta with 3GT.”

Alon said he’s looking forward to the 10-hour endurance race, a change from the sprint races of the last few weeks.

“I like these races, it takes a different mental approach and I train physically harder,” he said. “I’ve raced at Road Atlanta couple times and it’s a really fun track and I’m looking forward to driving with Ian James.”

Recording a win or a podium has eluded the team, but the year has not been without progress. The team has earned 11 top-ten finishes between the two cars. Both cars have finished top five. The No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 finished fifth at Watkins Glen. Hawksworth had the fastest lap in the GTD class at the Glen and took fastest lap at Road America. The team’s first pole position went to Sage Karam when he set a track record at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and where the No. 14 finished fifth.

Karam is happy to be back at Road Atlanta. “It’s one of those tracks I’ve always clicked well at,” he said. “I’ve had good results whenever I’ve raced there. Plus, we’ve tested there and did well in testing. I’m looking forward to this.”
Hawksworth, who set a track record at Road Atlanta when he was driving LMPC, said he’s been looking forward to this race all year.

“After a string of personal best performances this year I had my worst race of the season at Laguna Seca last month and I am really motivated to get to the front and stay there at Road Atlanta,” Hawksworth said. “It helps that we’ve tested there, so going back with track knowledge and an understanding of how the car works here, is going to be really helpful.”

The 10-hour race is scheduled for a green flag at 11:05 a.m. (ET) on Saturday, Oct. 7. Live coverage of IMSA’s 20th Anniversary Motul Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta will begin on FS1 at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and move to FS2 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with live coverage continuing from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on FOX Sports GO and from 5 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on FS2.

About 3GT Racing
3GT Racing was formed to race the Lexus RC F GT3. Owned and operated by five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi and his longtime partners, Tony and John Gentilozzi, the East Lansing, Michigan-based team principals have been involved in motorsports for more than 46 years and have claimed more than 75 victories and 15 manufacturer and driver championships.